KEY POINTS:
They were still shaking his hand, but were they shaking their heads at the same time? If the elderly have lost confidence in Winston Peters following weeks of what would seem to be highly damaging publicity, it was not obvious at yesterday's meeting of the Mana-Tawa branch of
Grey Power.
Come question-time and no one in the 150-plus audience in the Porirua Club felt compelled to ask him to detail the workings of the Spencer Trust, what happens to donations to NZ First or what he thought of Owen Glenn.
Were the Grey Power members happy with what little Peters has said by way of explanation? Or do they simply have more pressing priorities?
However, where once he might have enjoyed a rapturous reception, yesterday he had to be content with only modest applause.
True, Peters' speech received the most applause of those given by representatives from six parliamentary parties at the Grey Power-organised forum on superannuation. But that is not saying much. They were interlopers on his territory.
With the exception of Labour's Darren Hughes, Peters' competitors were also comparative political novices. It showed when Peters took the microphone when he was not supposed to do so.
"I'm abiding by the rules of the debate," National's Katrina Shanks complained. The first rule of politics is that there are no rules. Peters took her griping as cue for him to hog the microphone even more.
The second rule of politics is that no one thanks you for what you have done for them.
When it comes to helping the elderly, NZ First's record speaks for itself, be it increases in basic government super rates, free off-peak public transport, more money for hearing aids or the SuperGold discount card.
If Grey Power is grateful for what Peters has done, its members were not showing it. They gave him their full attention. But they did not look like they were hanging on every word.
It was not for want of trying on Peters' behalf. He praised them - "when you were running things, this country was a better place". He lectured them - "you have to make it [the SuperGold Card] work for you".
And he cajoled them - "the paper shufflers and the money movers in Auckland ... say because your hair is grey, you are second class citizens. Why on earth would you accept that? You've got the power. It is over to you in this [election] campaign." And he promised more goodies to come.
There were signs of the old Peters' magic that can first captivate an audience and then swing it behind him. But there was no rapport with this one. It was one-way traffic.
Afterwards, several people came forward to shake his hand. He mingled for a while before jumping into his ministerial car, waving away reporters' questions on a poll showing him trailing badly in Tauranga. He was all smiles, but he knows he has his work cut out for him.
